Everything Dolphin: No subject is taboo, no deadlines, no space crunch.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Dolphins as a punchline is getting very old

The guys on ESPN were really yukking it up this evening when they replayed the 52 seconds during which Jeff Ireland, Miami's general manager, suffered his "Freudian Slip" moment.

You know the instance, when Ireland said he wants the first overall selection to be "a pillar of the defense," for years to come when he really meant to say "a pillar of the team."

Saying a pillar of the defense suggests Ireland and the Dolphins are going to pick a defensive player even though they are only negotiating with offensive tackle Jake Long as of this writing. Ireland was unaware he said defense and, when told, corrected himself even as his face was turning red.

He then admitted saying defense was a "Freudian slip," and tried to move on. But the error is made. And it was an error. I was there, and believe me, he didn't say "defense" to throw the rest of the NFL off a scent. He simply misspoke and the gaff is already on youtube.com.

"I'm going to watch the next Jeff Ireland press conference," ESPN analyst and former Tennessee Titans GM Floyd Reese said on national TV. "I want to see if there are any Bill Parcells finger prints around his throat."

Ha ha. Very funny, Floyd.

But here's the problem with that humor: I personally am tired of the jokes.

I really wish the Dolphins could get to a place where they no longer are a joke. Their fans, rabid and mostly knowledgeable, deserve to root for a team that isn't a punchline. But, sadly, it's been a looong time since the Dolphins weren't Dave Letterman or Jay Leno fodder.

Last year they were not only bad, but they had Dr. Strangelove as the head coach saying things like, "Today we drafted the Ted Ginn family," or proclaiming he wanted the team to "fail forward fast," or "I want to see that thumb go this direction." The Dolphins were a joke and being 1-15 was only part of the reason.

Before that, Nick Saban was a cartoon character in headsets. Before that Dave Wannstedt and Rick Spielman were dumb and dumber. Before that Jimmy Johnson and Dan Marino played out a weekly soap opera -- as the Dolphins turn -- and the game pushed both out of the NFL was a 62-7 debacle.

And now, all of three press conferences into his career as Miami's GM, Ireland has already made his youtube debut and pundits are making fun of him and the team. Again.

Sure, it's great if you aren't a Dolphins fan and can use the Dolphins as an example of how bad things can get. It is moments like this and the others I've mentioned that cause fans in New York and Buffalo and New England to laugh at Miami.

But I, for one, am kind of sick of the pratfalls and pitfalls.

So here's a novel idea for the Dolphins: Be entertaining, sure. Have fun. But do it on the field. That is the proper stage for fun times.

He maybe slipped, I don't think so. He wants to put pressure on Jake Long. Now there is all this press on that statement about "Defense." Now, Condon and Long have to be hearing this, and that will put the pressure on him to sign.

This to me is obviously a smokescreen. Who knows, maybe Ireland can act as well. He could be feeling ashamed for telling a lie.

This is all about low balling Long. If they can get him to sign for what they want him to, it will be a minor victory for the Phins.

Armando, please, spare me the "Rallying the troops" crap. This is an obvious reflection on Wayne H., and his ineptitude for running the team.

Armando, I understand where you're coming from. It's tough watching my favorite team be the butt of so many jokes, and I don't like hearing bad things said about my favorite team. Unfortunately, it's the position that the Dolphins are in. Three losing seasons in four years will garner a team that type of coverage.

One thing I've learned over these turbulant times is to completely disregard anything and everything that ESPN ever says. It's not the "Worldwide Leader In Sports", rather it is the "Worldwide Leader In Hype." ESPN will always latch it's bandwagon to the hottest teams and players and expect it's viewers to follow along like mindless sheep treating every word they say as if it was the Holy Bible.

Remember a couple of years ago how ESPN did a feature with the 2005 USC Trojans versus the great National Championship Teams of yesteryear? Everytime, they pitted the 2005 Trojans against one of those legendary teams, it always seemed that the Trojans would always win. Even when they pitted the 2005 Trojans against the 2001 Miami Hurricanes, they still said USC would beat them. I mean, c'mon! The 2001 Canes would've wiped the floor with USC.

Well, when it came time to play the National Title game, and just when everybody thought it would be a grand coronation ceremony for the supposedly "Greatest College Football Team Ever", Vince Young and the Texas Longhorns stopped the ESPN hype machine dead in it's tracks and made them look like absolute fools. ESPN did and has done the same thing with the New England Patriots in past seasons, and especially this one.

Floyd Reese can laugh now, but I wonder how funny Floyd finds ESPN's antics when the subject of Pacman Jones comes up? I guarantee you, he isn't laughing then. Trey Wingo and his merry band of tools might be, but not Floyd. Floyd has to be reminded EVERY SINGLE DAY about how he screwed with Pacman Jones, and how now the guy he picked is the "poster child" for bad behavior in the NFL.

Anyways, I'm getting off track. Times are tough and I, along with a lot of other Dolphins fans wish things were different. However, it could be worse. A lot WORSE. Our face of the franchise might be on Dancing With The Stars, but the Falcons former face of their franchise is serving time in federal prison for dogfighting. Our young quarterback is one of the first people in the facility and one of the last people out. He's thrown over 4,000 passes with his new quarterback coach, and is working his ass off trying to become the answer at quarterback that the Dolphins have been desperately seeking since Marino retired. While the young quarterback in Oakland, sits on his fat ass half of the time balloning up to 300 lbs.

Then of course, there's the Detroit Lions. If you thought Dave Wannstedt was here too long, look at what those poor fans in Detroit have been through. It's absolutely unacceptable that Matt Millen has been employed for such a long period of time. I don't like the Miami Dolphins being the butt of jokes, but nothing lasts forever. This can change, this will change, and the Dolphins will once again be the standard by which all other franchises are measured. YES WE CAN!

So, to ESPN, all the Dolphin haters, get it all in now, because it won't last much longer. If you're not down with that, I've got two words for ya..... SUCK IT!!!!

First, I think it was to pressure Long and if it was a slip, what's the problem, 3 of the top 6 players are defense (C. Long, Golston and Dorsey), and Ryan and MacFadden are out of the picture, so taking 1 out of 4 or 3 (if you not consider Dorsey) is not such a great thing.Finally, it can be a way to not taking heat for not getting Long because he wants too much money and getting a similar player at a cheaper price.

First, I think it was to pressure Long and if it was a slip, what's the problem, 3 of the top 6 players are defense (C. Long, Golston and Dorsey), and Ryan and MacFadden are out of the picture, so taking 1 out of 4 or 3 (if you not consider Dorsey) is not such a great thing.Finally, it can be a way to not taking heat for not getting Long because he wants too much money and getting a similar player at a cheaper price.

Funny how so many delight in mocking Cameron for saying that he drafted the Ted Ginn family - an obvious reference to the fact that Ginn had a solid upbringing and character - but no one questions why Chris Long is praised for being Howie Long's son.

I suppose metaphors are a bit too difficult for Armando and his crowd to grasp.

Floyd Reece.... Ha Ha.... Who gives a flying beep about anything that tool has to say.... Trey Wingo? He is a joke himself.... All they do on any ESPN show is try to be comedians.... Go to the comedy channel fellas because none of those idiots says anything I want to listen too anyway.... Ha Ha

dx dolfan: You hit the nail on the head, buddy! Especially in pointing out where this "joke" came from. Floyd Reese not only drafted Pacman, but signed him to a contract that has a GUARANTEED base salary of $6 Million over the next 3 years. That means that they HAVE to trade him or they will have to pay him that money to be suspended. (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3330169) Here's the best part... even if they cut him, they STILL owe him the $$$. Seriously, if you're worried about someone's jokes about the Fins, please make sure they are not the joke of their peers. The guy is obviously a tool!

As to whether it was a smokescreen or not, I believe it was. Ireland kind of chuckles when he first gets the question, then pauses for a split second before he says "defense". Not the best acting job I've ever seen, but it seems to be good enough cuz everyone is biting... hook, line, and sinker! I can just see the Trifecta sitting back and laughing at how everyone took the bait. It's about time they got the misinformation machine chugging along. Go Fins!!!

As a teen Chuck Norris impregnated every nun in a convent tucked away in the hills of Tuscany. Nine months later the nuns gave birth to the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only undefeated and untied team in professional football history.

Armando, do not forget what Jeff said that the early part of the Press Conference. He mentioned how teams will set smokescreens, how Parcells has done it over the years and even he said he has set some smokescreens. I think this may be another smokescreen. We have to realize we don't know Jeff Ireland very well yet, so it's possible that he is good a mispalying things and misdirection. Well, so if we do pick defense, to me it will only show that you were wrong again. On an earlier blog you first said Jake Long would not be the pick, then you said he would be the pick, guess now you'll change back again wont ya? In the end, I bet you is Jake Long.

Wow, I normally can tolerate the the garbage that Armando usually writes, but this is a new low. I am a first time poster, long time reader, and the only reason I'm posting right now is because this is unbelievably crappy journalism. You really need to step your game up Armando - not that it can go down much more than this...

Can we take a vote on who thinks this is actually a GOOD article? I bet nobody.

Such boredom. How the slip generates this much chatter is beyond me. Couldn't it just be possible a person with football on his mind 25 hours a day really did mean to say team but the word defense came out? Who knows, who cares. My concern is this, these 3 amigos Parcells Ireland and Sparano are all ROOKIES in their new jobs, and showing it. What exactly is the potential of the two puppets without Parcells in the picture? I can't say either one as impressed me.

Only in America. The Patriots get caught cheating and when sportscenter talks about it the sportscasters act solemn and apologetic. Jeff Ireland makes an honest, HUMAN mistake and they jump all over him. Oh well, we still have the first pick in the draft.If we do draft Chris Long we'll be the ones laughing when he's punishing opposing QBS every Sunday. NYScott

Cam Cameron signed a four-year contract on January 19, 2007 to become the Miami Dolphins seventh head coach. He joins the Dolphins with an outstanding pedigree, having played or coached under some of sports’ greatest winners, including Bob Knight, Bo Schembechler, and Marty Schottenheimer.

He also is universally respected as one of the top quarterback tutors in the game. As an indication of his prowess in developing quarterbacks, four of Cameron’s last five starting QBs went on to earn Pro Bowl or collegiate All-American selection – Philip Rivers, Drew Brees, Antwaan Randle El, and Gus Frerotte.

Cameron joined the Dolphins from the San Diego Chargers, where he spent the last five seasons (2002-06) orchestrating the Bolts’ potent offense. With Cameron as offensive coordinator, San Diego led the National Football League in scoring in 2006 and finished third and fifth in that category in 2004 and 2005, respectively. Over those three seasons (2004-2006), the Chargers amassed 1,356 points, a figure surpassed only by the Indianapolis Colts (1,388 points), a difference of only 32 points over 48 games. In addition, he was instrumental in the development of Pro Bowl performers Brees, Rivers, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Antonio Gates.

In 2006, the Chargers led the NFL in scoring with a team-record 492 points. It was the third season in a row the team scored more than 400 points, the first time the Chargers accomplished that feat in consecutive seasons since 1980-81. That also was the tenth-highest scoring total in NFL history since the league went to a 16-game schedule in 1978. They were the only team in the league to rush for 2,500 yards and pass for 3,400 yards, and led the NFL in red zone touchdowns with 42 TDs in 62 trips (67.7%). The Chargers also set a team record by rushing for more than 100 yards in 14 of the 16 games last year, and scored 20 or more points in all but one of those contests.

Under Cameron’s direction, quarterback Philip Rivers posted a 14-2 record in his first season as a starter, which is tied for the second-best record by a QB in his first 16 starts. Cameron’s play-calling helped San Diego running back LaDainian Tomlinson become the Associated Press Most Valuable Player in 2006, when he led the league in rushing with a team record 1,815 yards and set single season NFL records for most total touchdowns (31) and most rushing touchdowns (28). In all, six members of Cameron’s offensive squad were named to the Pro Bowl.

In 2005, Cameron oversaw an offense that produced a 3,500-yard passer (Brees), a 1,000-yard rusher (Tomlinson), and a 1,000-yard receiver (Gates). It was the second time in team history that it happened and the first time since 1981. The Chargers were one of only six NFL teams to feature such a threesome.

Also in 2005, the trio of Brees, Tomlinson and Gates was one of only four in the league to combine for 20 touchdown passes, 10 rushing touchdowns and 10 touchdown catches. It marked the second consecutive year that the trio achieved that feat and the fifth time in team history.

With the Chargers scoring 446 points in 2004 (the third highest total in the NFL behind Indianapolis and Kansas City), all three players were selected to the Pro Bowl after the season. But that wasn’t the only honor Cameron and the offense received that season; in recognition of his accomplishments molding that group into one of the most potent units in the league, Cameron was named NFL Offensive Assistant Coach of the Year by SportsIllustrated.com. In addition, Brees finished with 27 touchdown passes and 3,159 passing yards. His 104.8 passer rating ranked third in the NFL. In addition to his Pro Bowl selection, Brees’ awards that season included Comeback Player of the Year and Most Improved Player of the Year honors.

In 2003, with Cameron heading the offense, Tomlinson became the first player in league history to rush for more than 1,000 yards and catch 100 passes in the same season. Tomlinson racked up 2,370 yards from scrimmage, second-most in NFL history, and rushed for 1,645 yards, third-most in team history.

In 2002, Cameron’s first season as offensive coordinator, Tomlinson rushed for a then-team record 1,683 yards. In addition, Brees made his first career start and finished the season with 3,284 passing yards and 17 touchdowns.

Cameron joined the Chargers after five seasons (1997-2001) as the head coach at Indiana University. During his tenure in Bloomington, Cameron was responsible for the creative utilization of Antwaan Randle El, one of the most versatile athletes in college football history. Randle El finished his career as the NCAA Division I-A rushing leader among quarterbacks and was the only player in major college football history to both rush for 40 touchdowns and pass for 40 touchdowns in a career. He finished his career ranked fifth on the NCAA Division I-A total yardage list with 11,366 yards, one spot ahead of Doug Flutie, and had four of the top five seasons in offensive production in Indiana history.

In 2001, his Hoosier team was ranked third in the Big Ten and 19th nationally in total offense (435.3 yards per game) and was fourth in the country in rushing offense (269 yards per game). Their Big Ten victories included wins over Wisconsin in Madison (63-32), at Michigan State (37-28), Northwestern (56-21) and Purdue (13-7). Randle El finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy race, earned first-team All-America honors from the Football Writers Association, and was named as the Big Ten MVP. In addition, running back Levron Williams led the country in all-purpose yardage with more than 200 yards per game, and all five of the team’s offensive linemen garnered All-Big Ten accolades, with four of them earning NFL contracts.

In 2000, Cameron’s Indiana team was 13th nationally in total offense. In particular, the Hoosiers averaged 266.4 rushing yards per game, which led the Big Ten and was seventh in the nation. The team’s average of 5.8 yards per carry ranked second nationally behind Nebraska. They scored more than 30 points on seven different occasions, including 45 points vs. Iowa and 51 against 23rd ranked Minnesota. A year earlier, in 1999, Indiana was 34th in total offense nationally and 19th in rushing offense.

In addition to developing his student-athletes on the field, Cameron worked hard to ensure their success in the classroom as well. During his tenure at Indiana, the school was one of only 13 universities in the country that was recognized by the AFCA for graduation rates of 70 percent or better for three consecutive years (1999-01).

Cameron’s first NFL coaching stop came as the Washington Redskins’ quarterbacks coach from 1994-96. While serving on Norv Turner’s staff, Cameron oversaw the development of 1994 seventh-round pick Gus Frerotte, who became a Pro Bowler in 1996, and Trent Green, who served as the team’s third quarterback in 1995 and 1996 before eventually becoming a two-time Pro Bowl quarterback for Kansas City.

Before moving to the NFL, Cameron was an assistant at the University of Michigan from 1984-93, serving the first six of those years under the late Bo Schembechler. Cameron started as a graduate assistant (1984-85) before working as the wide receivers coach from 1986-89. In addition to the wide receivers, he coached the quarterbacks from 1990-93, including 1991 when Wolverines wide receiver Desmond Howard won the Heisman Trophy. During his 10 seasons as an assistant at Michigan, the program won six Big Ten titles and played in 10 bowl games. In addition to Howard, Cameron was the position coach for such future NFL players as quarterbacks Elvis Grbac and Todd Collins as well as wide receivers Derrick Alexander and Amani Toomer, among others.

Grbac ended his Michigan career under Cameron as one of the most prolific passers in school history. He finished in 1992 as the school record-holder in eight different career passing categories, including completion percentage (62.5), completions (522), yards passing (6,460), touchdowns (71) and passing efficiency (148.14). He was the NCAA leader in passing efficiency in both 1991 (169.0) and 1992 (150.18) and was a finalist for the 1992 Johnny Unitas and Davey O’Brien Awards.

In 1991 Grbac’s 25 touchdown passes set a school record. That same year, along with Heisman Trophy winner Howard, the duo set the NCAA record for most touchdowns by the same quarterback/receiver tandem in a career (31), and tied the NCAA single-season record for touchdown by the same passer and receiver (19).

That same season Howard caught 61 passes for 950 yards with those 19 touchdowns as a senior. He set an NCAA record at the time with at least one touchdown catch in ten consecutive games.

For Cameron, the move into coaching was a natural fit. His stepfather, Tom Harp, was a head coach at Cornell (1961-65), Duke (1966-70), and Indiana State (1973-77). Cameron and Harp each have a unique distinction of coaching a Heisman Trophy winner. Cameron coached Howard at Michigan, while Harp was an assistant coach at Army when Pete Dawkins won that trophy in 1958.

Before embarking on his coaching career, as a collegian Cameron played varsity football and basketball at Indiana. He earned two letters as a quarterback for Lee Corso (1982) and Sam Wyche (1983) and two (1981-82, 1982-83) playing basketball for Bob Knight before a football knee injury in his senior year ended his playing career. He graduated from Indiana in 1983 with a degree in business.

Cameron was a two-sport prep standout for South Vigo High School in Terre Haute, Ind., where he lived while his stepfather coached at Indiana State. In football he was an All-America selection at quarterback as a senior and earned all-state honors twice and all-county honors three times. He was named Vigo County’s Athlete of the Year in 1978 and 1979. Cameron also led his team to three consecutive state basketball finals, and in 1979 he was named the winner of the state’s prestigious Trester Award for mental attitude. Also in 1979, he was named national Athlete of the Year by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Cameron was born on February 6, 1961 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He and his wife, Missy, have four children, sons Tommy, Danny, and Christopher, and daughter Elizabeth.

There must be some sort of disease at Dolphins camp that immediately makes employees into retards.

Jimmy was a genius in Dallas and a lazy bum in Miami. Rick Spielman is making good deals for Minny but was a total loser for us, getting us AJ Feeley. Saban won a national title then pooped his pants in Miami. Cameron was a great OC in San Diego then became a laughing stock in Miami. NOw this guy Ireland, who helped build the Cowboys, shows he's stupid also.

I have to agree, I too am tired of the Dolphins being a punchline in the NFL. As much as I hate the old regime, you have to give it to them in the last draft, they do have an eye for talent. As far as I have learned Beck is a rediculously hard worker, Ginn is turning into something and they drafted a number of players who can turn into something decent. They were young last year and I think with the new driver behind the wheel we should be in for a very prosperous future.

I think you are starting to look like any other frustrated dolphin finally it got you; wellcome; but I disagree this was a plain act, beliave it, you think that guy just came in there unprepared for what to say, he knew exactly waht he had to say, and that was "defense", they are trying to get a deal done with jake there in no question about it, the first overall pick is Jake Long.

The Fins have been a joke for awhile now. It feels like every decision made in the past 8 years has turned out horribly wrong. It is what it is. I never thought I'd see the day when the Fins drafted 1st overall, but here we are. Until things get fixed, we will continue to be a laughingstock and rightfully so.

As far as Ireland's gaffe goes, I don't think it really matters. If anything, it keeps other teams guessing what Miami is going to do with the first pick, which is nothing but good for us. Everyone knows that the Fins are negotiating with J. Long and it is clear that if we can't get a deal done with him, we'll move on to C. Long, Gholston or Dorsey. So, if a team is in love with either of those players, they might have to deal with Miami to assure themselves of getting that guy. Or not. Nothing that Ireland or Parcells says now will change the situation.

It's funny. All we keep reading leading up to this draft, is how we can't believe anything we hear coming from the teams regarding their picks. "It's all a smokescreen." Yet, as soon as something as obvious as the "pillar of the defense" comment leaves Jeff Ireland's lips, everyone takes it as gospel and proclaims Bill Parcells and Co. as incompetant and laughing stocks. Come on!!You're all a bunch of sheep and can't see it.

Right now, we(media and fans)are in a house of mirrors trying to figure out which one is the real deal. And everytime we think we've finally got it figured out, we find it's just another false image.

And BP & Co. are laughing the whole time. Just sit back and watch it unfold.

I know I for one have also made a big deal about all of this, but it really doesn't matter at all. I don't think we trade down anyway.

Since we get whoever the hell we want and we probably won't get a trade partner, it doesn't matter. I don't think anyone in the top five moves up because they all get an equally good player in the top five.

There are reporters that were at the conference that disagree with your assesment. They say there was a pause before the defense. Making it seem plausible that this was a smoke screen. Doesn't matter either way, they will still be trying to trade this pick until probably about 30 seconds before they are forced to make the pick.

Parcells is gone in 2 - 3 years. Miami gets one wildcard game during that time and loses. Ireland and Sparano will leave to open an ice cream parlor in Connecticut. Cameron turns the Ravens into an offensive threat and all the bloggers here that were against him will start singing the tune we should have given him another year. Miami will be a boring team for years to come.

Far too much time has been spent on this just because it's a slow news cycle. But I'll throw in my 2 cents anyway. I think of it this way: it doesn't really matter if Ireland slipped or not, because with all of the speculation out there no one can really know for sure.

Who cares what Floyd Reese says. He is the one who is no longer evaluating personnel for an NFL franchise...........the supposed "gaffe" made by Ireland is over-exaggerated......if anything it puts more doubt in the minds of other NFL front offices who are trying to base their draft boards on whatever Miami does first.....

I hope on draft day they trade ballerina jason taylor.Taylors dancing and prancing only reminds viewers of how soft the 07 fins were, the 90 pound weaklings of the nfl.Its lucky 07 draft day the fans didnt have stones as cameron would have been stoned to death after choosing ginns family over the circus clown brady quinn if u looked at his draftday outfit. The good news is that parcells, ireland has gotten rid of the fin softees and the 08 fins will be a bunch of tough guys. Lets face it zach thomas one on one versus the opponents center was a mismatch in favor of the opposing team.Next saturday look for the fins to make a trade with atlanta or kansas city so they can take matt ryan or jake long. The 07 dolphins were as big a joke as the winless bucs i am sorry to say.08 will be redemption year for the fins.

To the anonymous poster who talked about the ESPN hype machine vis-a-vis the 2005 USC football team: I'm with you on how horrid the ESPN hype machine is. The only thing they hype more consistently than a flavor-of-the-month player or team is ESPN itself, which is the antithesis of journalism.

But I think your notion that the 2001 UM Hurricanes would have "wiped the floor" with the 2005 USC team is balderdash. I can't prove that USC would have won any more than you can prove otherwise, but to say 'SC would have been wiped out is absurd. That was a pretty good Texas team that beat 'SC ... in the final 19 seconds. USC had over 500 yards of offense against what was considered a great defense. That Trojan team had the worst defense of any USC team in the last six years, but their offense almost overcame it. So congrats to your UM Hurricanes on their 2001 excellence, and I'll take pride in our (yes "our," I'm a graduate) 2003 and 2004 National Championships. As to which team is better ... let's hope the two fine programs can meet in the upcoming National Championship. Could be one hell of a match-up...

It is fun to participate and appreciate the comments and articles. You are one of the few who participates in his own blog. Most just put in an article and tell everyone that doesn't agree that they are morons.

As a Canucklehead from the great white north our Dolphins have gone from being a feature team week after week to a team that is not shown at all. And that sucks. The Phins are coming to the Great White North this year. There are many that are out there that love the phins.

The draft this year will produce furture successful teams. Although a Superbowl is still a long way off.

Yeah, it is kind of absurd to say one team would have wiped the floor against another, but that's what sports talk is all about....for whatever it's worth, I think the 2001 Cane team would have blasted the 2005 USC team...I'm a Gators fan and we were on the brink of going to that title game, but lost to Tennessee late....I knew whoever played Miami though was toast that year.

It's a 2003 AP championship by the way. The NCAA really recognizes the BCS champ each year, which was LSU. So, for all of this USC dynasty talk, they really only have one National Title (2004). They were a great team and one of the all-time greats, even in 2005, but I'm still just saying...

i have been a dolphin fan since i was a kid. we half to take the bad times as well as the good. if you are a true dolphin fan you half to deal wih the ups and downs. the bucs went how before they had there good year. just as the other poster said it could be much worse(we could have vick, pacman,chris henry probems with our players)but outtop player is doing something positive with his life nd not out getting in trouble like alot of players are. it might have been a smokescreen but i ould care less as long as who we draft doesnt turn out to be a bust. i applaud the efforts of beck trying to get better by putting timein that shows leadership there. i know alot of people joke about wanstadt and jay feidler but think about it howmany times did we have 10 or more wins with them. no we didnt make the play offs but we had winning seaons and he didnt just walk out on us saying he wasnt leaving. no body will ever be marino we as dolphin fans ned to face that. how in the world do the schedule makers give us the jets as st and last game of the season.

aI read the herald every day, I used to watch them as a kid when Shula had them doing 7 a days, Then go to Lum's and eat hot dogs. The point is every team goes through this, It was the phins turn. Get over it we will be better this season.I have been a fan along time. I used to have 2 put up with Dallas fans and now chiefs fans, But i'll be home soon to be at every game, why, because I am a DOLFAN

I understand how you feel. But I remember a time when we all used to laugh at the Patriots. With those ugly helmets and colors, bleachers for seats! lol. They were the laughing stock of the league. Them and the Bengals. Parcells fixed them, let's have the faith that he'll fix the Dolphins.

The true measure of a fan is not whether his team is winning, but how long he sticks with the team when they are losing. Imagine how the Rams fans felt as the consistently worst team in the NFL in the 90's, only to be a dominant team in the early 00's (is that a word?). As a fan, you decide whether you can pass the test that is a 1-15 season.

geez people chill out. they would've been making fun of him no matter what team he was gm for.. i found it pretty funny too. and plus Mando arent you the one that offered the idea of the Jake Long negotiation's being a smoke-screen?

Boston college qb matt ryan said the fins were one of the teams that gave him private workout.Armando, ireland played you like all the media and again u look foolish agreeing with the crap from sedano on 790. We have a great game of poker being played by the fins and the marks are the rams, falcons, chiefs and ravens. The wild cards are ryan and jake long.No one knows for sure what parcells will do in comparism to the inept wannestedt, saban and the dumbest of the dumb cameron. I cant wait until next sat at 3 pm to see what happens.

I agree about the laughingstock stuff, but you & your companero Sedano really need to relax. Ireland's gaffe is much ado about nothing. There have been few, if any, trades up for the number one pick in recent years. The Fins can bluff, smokescreen, disseminate misinformation and posture 'til the cows come home, but it don't mean nuttin w/out someone who wants to move up. And anyway, I thought you gave up on this new regime when it failed to sign Faneca/Hall/Pace?

I wanna line up vs. the Jets and the Pats four times a year and know that we've got better than good chance of kicking their butts instead of looking at the schedule in April and putting an 'L' next to these games!

If your theory is ireland erred then the fins pick will be dt Dorsey of lsu.The reasoning being ireland said you build the defense around our pick.You build your def around your def tackles.i think its 50 50 the fins trade the pick to either atlanta or kansas city. Finally im tired of the ballerina jason taylor asking unofficially to be traded. Get rid of his soft sorry butt on or before draft day. Hes another guy thats engulfed by the leagues better tackles and his dancing makes the fins look like laughing stocks.Lets get some hungry, nasty linebackers and become a tough physical defense.

Armando, why do you write in such a conversational style? Do you think adding "you know," or "let me tell you," or "and believe me," which is what you wrote in this post, makes your writing more readable? It's redundant, and more importantly, it's annoying and will turn off your readers. When you say "I am personally tired of the jokes," what does that mean? You are "personally" tired? What you mean to say is that you're tired of the jokes, by saying "I am" you make it clear you are referring to yourself and you don't need to add "personally." It's like saying "My personal opinion," by definition an opinion is personal so adding the extra word is redundant. It's irritating to have to read through these grammatical errors, and unfortunately you do have a large audience, it's a shame readers can't take from this discourse some proper language. You're life is in words, so act like a professional. My son spends a good amount of time following the Dolphins and reading your blog and sometimes when I'm reading with him I just shudder in frustration that this is the type of language usage he is exposed to.

I'm pretty sure the 'fins won't take any o-linemen and will line up on offense with satele, smiley, carey, 3 tight ends, 2 fullbacks, beck, brown and booker at split end. There's no need to draft any more lineman then. We should draft all defense and then run 3 times on offense and punt. We'd lead the leauge in turnover margin and we'd save beck's arm because he's getting into his upper 20's and we want to conserve him for the playoffs 2 years down the road. And I think we'll keep JT because he can dance when he's on the field and totally distract the opposing team. And if Porter can gang beat some other people, we'll have a hell of a team. And if Crowder can find the damn ball carrier as well as he finds trees with his truck, he'll wreak havoc. And I think Ferguson will literally eat the opposing center.

Zolo, I read Jason Cole's new Jason Taylor story you pointed out. What a piece of crap!

This is the same guy who previously "broke the story" that Miami and Taylor had amicably agreed to part ways. Now he's writing Taylor has asked the Dolphins to trade him and they have refused. Which one is it?

Madge,Can you not see that myself and others here find you quite annoying? I feel badly for your son that he is probably henpecked and imasculated by an overbearing mother, who is obviously a big man-hater. Get a life....seriously.

You are so typical of the embittered femanazi. Your son probably doesn't live for one hour each day, that you aren't correcting, scolding, nagging or screaming at him. You give mothers with great parenting skills a bad name.

"Gentleman:" I have never been so disrespected by a group of rabble such as yourselves. Mr. Banks, if you are going to level insults at another human being, at least have the intelligence to use correct spelling. The term is "emasculate," which means to deprive of strength, or weaken, which is a process your vocabulary obviously has been through. Perhaps the better term for your language is "impotent," the double entendre of that word seems to characterize you perfectly. I am a wonderful parent, you have the evidence of this because I am actually reading on the Internet WITH HIM, spending time WITH HIM, and educating him on proper language and diction. Your parents didn't spend that time with you, and I feel sorry you were deprived of the opportunity of a good education. My son is an honor student, and in the fall we will go as a family to visit universities which he is interested in attending to pursue his higher education. Which schools will these be? Let's see, we're going to Rice in September; Penn later that month and Delaware in October. I shouldn't be offended by all of you, after all Miami has a low standard for education as evidenced by the poor public school system. My son attends an exclusive private school in Coconut Grove, he is a member of the student government, and leads quite an active social life. And you gentlemen, what are your careers? Mr. Flex, what exactly do you do for a living? I teach English literature at a university; the husband which you say I nag has a PhD in world history. We read and have conversation and explore libraries in our free time, enriching our minds and contributing to society as best we can. Good day to you sirs, and good luck with the limited intellectual capacity you all possess. - Madge Beauchamp

Madge: I greatly appreciate that a wonderful parent and English literature professor such as yourself has deemed my blog so interesting as to come here at least twice in a four-hour span on a Saturday evening.

And while I'm not in the same league with Chaucer, Donne, Milton, Dryden, Keats, Yeats, Tennyson, or more recent geniuses such as Eliot, Beckett and Auden, I think I've done just fine with my Dade County public school education considering you are reading me and not them this evening.

flpd - perhaps you should read the article more carefully. He didn't say anything that contradicted the first story, only that now if they decide not to trade him, they may have an ultimatem to deal with, since JT's options are increasing. That was his point. It could be that, according to the initial report, they have agreed on something, but maybe its not advantageous for management to spill the beans just yet.

Madge - good for you for speaking up, as I have in the past. Don't mind their ignorant, hostile responses, most of them are either teenagers or frustrated low income workers, so they take your comments personal, as well as they should. For a prime time newspaper blog, the fact is Armando often writes incomplete sentences, or grammatically incorrect sentences, and seemingly doesn't even proof read his articles for obviously missing words such as 'the', 'that' and others. People say its just a blog, and that there is no need to write perfect, however we know better, that once you let the language deteriorate in one area, it spreads to other areas. Keep up the comments. Thanks.

i seriously doubt that madge is any of the things she feels so greatly the need to defend. really, dear this a blog and the point made by mr. banks (who can be spotted daily performing in the london version of "mary poppins")is that your child 'may' be quite the educated chap you claim him to be. however, that being said. judging by your weird character, i hardly feel he would be qualified to lead a well adjusted adult life of the normal masculine variety. no offense to your son, i feel for him. it is you that should leave him, an attend the university of your dreams. oh, and by the way, not everyone that corresponds on this blog is male.

you on the other hand are quite somewhere in the middle, i would classify you neither as male nor female.

Oh, Armando, anyone can list giants of literature in a vain attempt at impressing a blog audience that obviously does not have the intellectual capacity to decipher your ruse. (As an aside, to say Samuel Beckett is a “recent genius” is a bit generous; much of his work is pointless and relies on gimmicks, his most famous play has two acts in which nothing happens.) Regardless, my son and I are completing a few college application forms online and we are quite amused at the poor use of grammar on your blog and the responses that our post has generated. Do you really wish to espouse the virtues of the supremely flawed Dade County public school system? Your own newspaper regularly publishes corruption scandal after corruption scandal involving that model of misappropriated taxpayer dollars.

Cheers, Mr. WriteRight, you are correct, there are a few of us who want to be the proprietors of the English language, in both its spoken and written forms. Language is a metaphor for the health of a society, the decay must stop right here. Thank you sir, I bid you a very fine evening.

And as for the above anonymous, nameless, and dare I say brainless poster, your entry does not make sense and therefore has no value. Of course, your entry features grammatical mistakes, but on this blog that is a given. Mr. Anonymous, when did I make the statement that only males posted on this site? I never made such a comment; my observations revolved around the intellectual capacities of the posters. And your personal attack on me is the garden-variety, pushed-into-a-corner, fight-or-flight response of someone who is incapable of original thought. Thank you for the contribution to society.

I'm a huge dolphins' fan myself, but I have got to refute some of the very erroneous statements you let overflow your ambitious mouth. First of all, regarding the 2001 canes. If you think they would have "wiped the floor" with the USC Trojans you are freaking on crack. Give the Trojans their props and don't be such a biased Canes' fan. There have been very few teams in college history with the balance of defense and offense SC has had. The Canes were great in 2001, but to believe it would have been some lopsided game is absolutely ridiculous. I'm guessing it would have been rather close with either side capable of winning.

And your remark about Vince Young and the Horns making SC look foolish clearly reveals you didn't watch the game. And, if you did, you were too busy cooking that crack you're smoking. VY took them down the field and scored with seconds left to edge the Trojans 41-38. Don't come in here blabbering absolute stupidity and think no one is going to say anything. I'm a Dolphins fan, but I'm willing to face up to the fact that they are horrendous right now and will be lucky to get 6 wins this year even with the best upgrades. They simply have too many holes. But, even though I'm a fan, it doesn't mean I ignore reality. Peace.

Zolo, go back and reread Cole's so-called scoop. All it said was that Taylor wants out. Big deal, that is not news.

Armando wrote this in the Herald on March 10.

Posted on Mon, Mar. 10, 2008Digg del.icio.us AIM reprint print email BY ARMANDO SALGUEROasalguero@MiamiHerald.comA week before his national television debut on Dancing with the Stars, Jason Taylor is doing a delicate and artful dance with Bill Parcells and the Dolphins.

Taylor, the Dolphins' best and highest-profile player, would like out of Miami, according to two sources. But those and other sources say Taylor knows he has no choice but to play for Miami if the team decides not to hang the exit sign on his locker.

Cole, meanwhile, had a report a week earlier saying the Dolphins and Taylor had "Graciously agreed to part ways," which has turned out to be untrue.

So Cole's first report was wrong and his second report was stuff that was written over 40 days ago.

flpd - Maybe you should learn how to read. "Graciously agreed to part ways," does not mean 'instantly' agreed to part ways. Have patience. Cole's first report has yet to be proven wrong or right. The second article was presented as an update and comment on the situation, not some new breaking news story. Writers get paid to write, and when they have no 'new breaking story', they comment or add perspective to an exisiting story. Perhaps you could use one of Madge's classes in reading and comprehension.

Hey madge and writeright, get a life, you f*cking losers. I can't believe that on a Saturday night, you have nothing to do but nag a couple of people on their grammer. Maybe if you got laid every once in a while, you would see that there is more to life than English and grammer. Do the world a favor and go bungee jumping with a rubber band!

Madge - kindly shut the hell up. Armando is writing a blog, not an article. If you don't like his writing, go read the Bible or something. Isn't that the kind of crap June Cleaver varieties like you read anyway?

If you're going to get on the guy for bad writing, at the very least, make sure you use proper grammar. Armando doesn't need some know-nothing-know-it-all telling him what to do; he's got an editor for that.

About this blog

Armando Salguero has covered South Florida sports for 25 years, starting as a 19-year-old in 1982. He's covered the Dolphins since 1990 and hosts a Dolphins hour show every weeknight 7-8 on 790 TheTicket (790theticket.com). He has worked nationally for ESPN and also writes sports columns for The Miami Herald.